Unsurprisingly,
On the bright side (?) most of the victims of Helene in GA and NC are likely Trump voters. To the extent that he fails to actually help them, he's also making it more likely that they'll be unable to vote.
What a guy
https://x.com/commons96055467/status/1841559991586799889
#GoFundMe #hurricane #victims
“* … in #memory of #victims of #Crocus-City #atrocity … In #Oktyabrsky #Hall , only 3,700 spectators. Obviously packed. Today Piknik is the most important band in #Russia .*”
…
The Guardian
Civilian proportion of deaths is higher than that in all world conflicts in 20th century, Haaretz newspaper says.
The aerial bombing campaign by Israel in Gaza is the most indiscriminate in terms of civilian casualties in recent years, a study published by an Israeli newspaper has found.
(Text continues underneath the photo.)
An injured Palestinian girl in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photograph: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Shutterstock.
The analysis by Haaretz came as Israeli forces fought to consolidate their control of northern Gaza on Saturday, bombing the Shejaiya district of Gaza City, while also conducting airstrikes on Rafah, a town on the southern border with Egypt where the Israeli army has told people in Gaza to take shelter. (...)
In the first three weeks of the current operation, Swords of Iron, the civilian proportion of total deaths rose to 61%, in what Haaretz described as “unprecedented killing”. The ratio is significantly higher than the civilian toll in all the conflicts around the world during the 20th century, in which civilians accounted for about half the dead.
“The broad conclusion is that extensive killing of civilians not only contributes nothing to Israel’s security, but that it also contains the foundations for further undermining it,” Haaretz concluded. “The Gazans who will emerge from the ruins of their homes and the loss of their families will seek revenge that no security arrangements will be able to withstand.” (...)
The figures will make uneasy reading for the Biden administration, which is facing global criticism and isolation for vetoing a UN security council vote for a ceasefire on Friday. (...)
Human Rights Watch said the US risked “complicity in war crimes” by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic support. Paul O’Brien, the executive director of Amnesty International USA, said: “With this veto, the US government is shamefully turning its back on immense civilian suffering, a staggering death toll, and unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.” (...)
> See also: Genocide – The Gaze From The Abyss
Tags: #israel #gaza #palestine #palestinians #occupied_territories #war #war_crimes #international_law #collateral_damage #weapons #victims #civilian_victims #humanitarian_aid #un #united_nations #ceasefire
Media Lens
(...) Imagine our surprise, then, when we saw this report from BBC Verify on the front-page of the BBC website:
‘Satellite images commissioned by the BBC reveal the extent of destruction across Gaza… While northern Gaza has been the focus of the Israeli offensive and has borne the brunt of the destruction, widespread damage extends across the entire strip.’ (...)
(Text continues underneath the map.)
.
The BBC report included a shocking photo montage showing how ‘a skyline of multi-storey buildings and a mosque was gradually reduced to rubble between 14 October and 22 November’. Note, this was not in reference to a single apartment block, but ‘a skyline of multi-storey buildings’. (...)
Josh Paul, former director of congressional and public affairs, who spent 11 years in the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the US government entity most responsible for the transfer and provision of arms to foreign countries. (...)
On 18 October, Paul sent a powerful letter of resignation to protest the massacre of civilians in Gaza. He wrote:
‘I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people – and is not in the long term American interest. (...)
In an interview with Democracy Now!, Paul added:
‘I decided to resign for three reasons, the first and most pressing of which is the very, I believe, uncontroversial fact that U.S.-provided arms should not be used to massacre civilians, should not be used to result in massive civilian casualties. And that is what we are seeing in Gaza and what we were seeing, you know, very soon after the October 7th horrific attack by Hamas. I do not believe arms should be — U.S.-provided arms should be used to kill civilians. It is that simple.
‘Secondly, I also believe that… there is no military solution here. And we are providing arms to Israel on a path that has not led to peace, has not led to security, neither for Palestinians nor for Israelis. It is a moribund process and a dead-end policy.
‘And yet, when I tried to raise both of these concerns with State Department leadership, there was no appetite for discussion, no opportunity to look at any of the potential arms sales and raise concerns about them, simply a directive to move forward as quickly as possible. And so I felt I had to resign.’
Apart from a single substantive mention and a couple of smaller mentions in the Guardian, Paul’s resignation has been buried by all other UK national newspapers, with a single mention on the BBC website. (...)
On 24 October, BBC correspondent Rami Ruhayem – a former journalist for the Associated Press, who has worked as a journalist and producer for BBC Arabic and the BBC World Service since 2005 – sent a letter to the BBC’s Director-General, Tim Davie:
‘Dear Tim,
‘I am writing to raise the gravest possible concerns about the coverage of the BBC, especially on English outlets, of the current fighting between Israel and Palestinian factions.‘It appears to me that information that is highly significant and relevant is either entirely missing or not being given due prominence in coverage.’
Ruhayem continued:
‘The nature of the Israeli response to the attack by Hamas on October 7 has prompted “over 800 scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies and genocide studies” to warn of ‘the possibility of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
‘They said:\r\n ‘“As scholars and practitioners of international law, conflict studies, and genocide studies, we are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. We do not do so lightly, recognizing the weight of this crime, but the gravity of the current situation demands it.”
‘I invite you to sift through our coverage, past and present, for any trace of the above; whether in explainers, or interviews, or features, or news analysis. Is it there at all, and if so, is it given the prominence it deserves?’
Ruhayem didn’t stop there:
‘Words like “massacre”, “slaughter”, and “atrocities” are being used—prominently—in reference to actions by Hamas, but hardly, if at all, in reference to actions by Israel.
‘Does this not raise the question of the possible complicity of the BBC in incitement, dehumanization, and war propaganda? How would the BBC respond to this?’
He continued:
‘Our current coverage kicked off following the Hamas attack. Doubtless, it is major news. But that doesn’t mean history started on October 7. We should incorporate into our coverage an accurate, balanced, fair, and truthful representation of the reality leading up to that moment.
‘I won’t go into detail, but simply remind you of three terms: apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and settler-colonialism.
‘These are terms used by many experts and highly respected organizations to which the BBC usually defers. They are used to describe the nature of Israeli rule over Palestinians as well as the methods used by Israel to oppress generation after generation of Palestinians. They are based on extensive evidence.
‘To what extent is this reflected in our coverage? Without such context, can we claim to have adequately informed the public? Or are we withholding highly relevant and significant information without which the basics of the conflict cannot possibly be understood?’ (...)
Ruhayem’s vital whistleblowing has been blanked by the entire UK national press and the BBC. The fact that Ruhayem has not tweeted since October 25, the day after he sent the letter, surely tells its own story. (...)
It is quite obvious that violence and hatred born of cruelty and injustice cannot be erased by yet greater cruelty and injustice. What results do we expect from Israel intensifying the strategy of ethnic cleansing that gave rise to Hamas in the first place?
We live in a terribly cruel and cynical time where our supposed leaders ignore clear public support for a ceasefire, just as they ignore the vital need for immediate action on climate change. (...)
Yes, the West can devastate its enemies, but it cannot avoid the price described by Nietzsche:
‘He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.’ (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Emmanuel, 1917, p.87) (...)
It turns out that one consequence of fighting with monsters – of building a global military-industrial machine dedicated to killing for profit – is that we lose the capacity to fight for life.
Tags: #journalist #journalism #media #news #bbc #censorship #israel #gaza #palestine #palestinians #occupied_territories #war #war_crimes #international_law #collateral_damage #weapons #victims #civilian_victims
Using a propaganda model, we would not only anticipate definitions of #worth based on #utility, and dichotomous attention based on the same criterion, we would also expect the #news stories about worthy and unworthy #victims (or enemy and friendly states) to differ in quality. That is, we would expect official #sources of the United States and its client regimes to be used heavily – and uncritically – in connection with one’s own #abuses and those of friendly governments, while refugees and other dissident sources will be used in dealing with enemies. We would anticipate the #uncritical acceptance of certain premises in dealing with self and friends – such as that one’s own state and leaders seek peace and democracy, oppose terrorism, and tell the truth – premises which will not be applied in treating enemy states. We would expect different criteria of evaluation to be employed, so that what is villainy in enemy states will be presented as an #incidental background fact in the case of oneself and friends. What is on the agenda in treating one case will be off the agenda in discussing the other. We would also expect great investigatory #zeal in the search for enemy villainy and the responsibility of high officials for abuses in enemy states, but diminished enterprise in examining such matters in connection with one’s own and friendly states.
— Edward Herman & Noam Chomsky, in their book Manufacturing Consent
#UnworthyVictims #WorthyVictims #media #propaganda #PropagandaModel #ManufacturingConsent #NoamChomsky #Chomsky #EdwardHerman
The West's governments have access to excellent #intel, #demography, national #statistics, #anthropology & other #info describing the people-groups, cultures & #societies of the #people they have imported into #Western nations.
The West's #governments used #NATO, #UN, #paramilitary & intel agencies to kick proverbial wasp nests in the Middle East, #Africa & South-West #Asia & then opened the West's borders to hostile peoples from antithetical #cultures.
None of the #political, #corporate, #academic, #plutocratic or #aristocratic #elites have been harmed. The #victims have been the peoples of the #West who had little to no say in #geopolitical affairs. The West’s elites are at #war with Western peoples.
#theelite #westerncivilization #thewest #middleeast #islam #uk
“We want to live as other children live.” Palestinian children have held a press conference outside Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital to plead with the world to put a...#AlJazeera #AlJazeeraEnglish #Gaza #Israels #Palestinian #alJazeera #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralive #aljazeeravideo #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralatest #aljazeeralive #aljazeeralivenews #bombardment #children #conference #half #latestnews #newsheadlines #plead #press #protection #stop #victims #world
Palestinian children plead for protection in Gaza press conference | Al Jazeera Newsfeed
12 noon - 1pm, Remembrance Sunday 12th November
Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9EX
Please join us for the National Alternative Remembrance Ceremony to remember all #victims of #war, both #civilian and #military, past and present, and commit to working for #peace.This year's event will focus on the terrible events unfolding in #Israel and #Palestine, as well as the extraordinary work of peace campaigners on both sides and internationally. With speakers including:
Isabel Kelly, with a message from the Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF), a joint #Israeli - #Palestinian organisation of over 600 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing #conflict.
Pat Gaffney, vice predisent of Pax Christi and a member of Women in Black London. Pat will speak about Pax Christi's ongoing work with peace campaigners in Israel and Palestine.
Richard Kuper from Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JJP), an organisation closely involved in recent demonsrations calling for a #ceasefire in #Gaza.
The national ceremony takes place every year in front of the memorial stone for #ConscientiousObjectors in Tavistock Square. We will observe two minutes' silence and white poppy wreaths will be laid on the memorial in memory of all victims of war.
All welcome - no need to book.
Please take a moment to share the event - www.ppu.org.uk/civicrm/event/info%3Fid%3D367%26reset%3D1
A teenager who graduated high school as the top-ranking Palestinian student of 2023 with a 99.6% average score is among the young victims of Israel’s air att...#996% #AlJazeera #AlJazeeraEnglish #Gaza #Israels #Palestinian #air #alJazeera #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralive #aljazeeravideo #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralatest #aljazeeralive #aljazeeralivenews #attacks #average #bomb #bombardment #children #graduate #high #latestnews #newsheadlines #school #score #strikes #student #victims #young
Top-ranking Palestinian high school graduate killed in Israeli attack | Al Jazeera Newsfeed
Hospital morgues in Gaza are being overwhelmed by the number of people killed in Israeli air attacks, so ice cream trucks and refrigerated food vehicles are ...#AlJazeera #AlJazeeraEnglish #airstikes #alJazeera #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralive #aljazeeravideo #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralatest #aljazeeralive #aljazeeralivenews #bombardment #gaza #gazahospitals #idf #latestnews #morgues #newsheadlines #victims
Ice cream trucks being used to store bodies as Israel bombs Gaza | AJ #shorts
Ninety years ago in 1933, the first white #poppies were created by members of the Co-operative Women's Guild. Many of these women had lost family and friends in the First World War. They were concerned about the way #RemembranceDay was going - its growing #militarisation and its detachment from a meaningful message of #peace. The Guild's General Secretary, Eleanor Barton, called for a renewal of "that 'Never Again' spirit that was strong in 1918, but seems to grow weaker as years go on".
Then as now, the white poppy stood for three vital principles:
• #Remembrance must include all #victims of #war, not only British #military #casualties, but also those excluded from mainstream commemorations - #civilians, #refugees, people of other nationalities, people affected by #conflict around the world today.
• We need to challenge militarism - both the militarisation of remembrance, and the war and militarism that leads to so much suffering.
• We must look forwards and work actively towards peace, even as we remember the past.
The newly married were among the mourners as funerals were held for victims of a huge fire at a wedding in Iraq, where at least 100 people died. Subscribe to...#AlJazeera #AlJazeeraEnglish #alJazeera #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralive #aljazeeravideo #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralatest #aljazeeralive #aljazeeralivenews #blaze #couple #fire #funeral #funerals #huge #latestnews #married #mourners #newly #newsheadlines #victims #wedding
Funerals for victims of Iraq wedding fire | Al Jazeera Newsfeed
People in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains are desperately digging graves to bury their relatives and residents killed in the magnitude 6.8 earthquake. Subscri...#68 #AlJazeera #AlJazeeraEnglish #HighAtlasmountains #Moroccans #alJazeera #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralive #aljazeeravideo #aljazeeraEnglish #aljazeeralatest #aljazeeralive #aljazeeralivenews #bury #desperately #dig #digging #earthquake #graves #killed #latestnews #magnitude #newsheadlines #quake #relatives #residents #victims
Moroccans dig graves to bury earthquake victims | AJ #shorts
Release the Epstein / #Maxwell pedophile #blackmail #honeypot intel agency scion control system client list now.
#Epstein didn't kill himself, he was snuffed out by private or intel agency assassins. Stop sacrificing our #children to protect powerful child #rapists.
Disclose who Epstein & Maxwell's clients & honeypot #victims are & bring them to #justice. No more child #rape control systems. No more child rape #trafficking. End this #horrific practice now.
#epsteinclientlist #epsteinmaxwell #honeypotblackmail #elitescions #uk #intelagencies #cia #fbi #nsa #mi6 #mi5 #gchq #mossad #puppeteers #puppetpoliticians #childtrafficking #childsacrifice #publishtheclientlist #endchildtrafficking #endchildrape #saveourchildren #usa #globalism #judeoangloamericanempire #crime
Ouch, that's gotta hurt...
The #European powers dealt with the Jewish #refugee #crisis by shipping #victims of the #Holocaust to the #MiddleEast.
So, while leading #Zionists understood that they had to uproot and displace #Arabs to establish a #homeland, they were also acutely aware that they were not wanted in the countries from which they had fled or been expelled.
The Zionists and their supporters may have mouthed slogans such as “a land without a people for a people without a land” in speaking of #Palestine, but, as the political philosopher Hannah Arendt observed, European powers were attempting to deal with the crime carried out against Jews in #Europe by committing another crime, one against #Palestinians.
It was a recipe for endless #conflict, especially since giving the Palestinians under #occupation full democratic rights would risk loss of control of #Israel by the Jews.
